Insulating-caster



No. 619,896. Patented Feb. 2|, I899. H. 8. LEE.

INSULATING CASTEB.

A umion mm nee-.21, 1896.)

(No Model.)

* UNITED STATES v PATENT OFFICE.

HARRY S. LEE, OF TECUMSEH, MICHIGAN.

INSULATING-CASTER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 619,896, dated February 21, 1899.

Application filed December 27, 1898. Serial No. 700,404. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HARRY S. LEE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Tecumseh, in the county of Lenawee and State of Michigan, have invented a new and useful Caster, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to casters for bedsteads, couches, and the like, and more particularly to electrically-insulated casters having glass or other non conducting casterwheels.

It is a well-known fact that persons afflicted with neuralgia, rheumatism, and kindred ailments suffer the most pain when in bed, and the reason ascribed to this is that the electricity absorbed into the body from the air durin g the active period of the day passes off from the person through the legs of the bed to the earth. This loss of electricity by one afflicted with rheumatism and the like produces aches and stiffness; but in a healthy person it is natures method of maintaining a normal condition and preventing an overcharge of electricity, which is absorbed or collected from the air during the wakeful and active periods of the day. To obviate the loss of electricity, glass and other non-conducting caster-wheels have been employed, which insulate or cut off the bed from electrical connection with the floor, and thus tend to retain the electricity in the body of the person sleeping in the bed; but thus insulating the bed has proven very annoying and probably harmful to healthy persons, as the normal electrical condition of the body is not maintained, which results in nervousness and wakefulness.

Therefore the presentinvention has for its object to provide an insulated caster with means whereby the same may be electrically connected with the floor only when desired.

To this end the invention consists in the novel combination and arrangement of parts, as will be hereinafter more fully described, and particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of a caster fitted to the leg of a bed stead, having a glass or other non-conducting casterwheel and provided with the improved switch in normal position. Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the caster, showing the switch electrically connecting the caster with the floor. Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional View taken through the connection of theswitch with the fork of the caster. Fig. 4 is a detail perspective view of the switch.

Corresponding parts are designated by like reference characters in all the figures of the drawings.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, 1 designates the shank or spindle of an ordinary caster, having the fork 2 at its lower end and a glass or other non-conducting casterwheel 3 mounted to revolve between the sides of the fork members 2. This is the common or ordinary form of caster.

My invention comprises an approximately U shaped metallic bail 4, having its ends pivoted to the outside of the opposite fork members 2 and embracing the caster-wheel. This bail is shown detached in Fig. 4., being bent from a single length of heavy wire to form the side arms 5, a transverse head 6 connecting the arms, the free ends of the latter being deflected toward each other to provide pivots 7. The only change necessary in an ordinary caster is to provide opposite openings 8 in the forks 2, into which the pivots 7 of the bail are adapted to be sprung to form a bearing and pivotal connection for the bail with the caster.

The normal position of the bail is shown in Fig. l as thrown upward upon its pivots with its transverse head resting against the leg 9 of the bed. The bail is preferably pivoted to the forks of the caster near. the bearing of the caster-wheel, as shown, and may be at either side thereof,whereby the bail is inclined backward and rests against the leg of the bed and is thereby prevented from being accidentally thrown downward and engaged with the fioor. In this normal position of the bail the bedstead is insulated or cut off from electrical connection with the floor. To electrically connect the bedstead with the floor, the bail is thrown downward upon its pivots until its head 6 engages the floor transversely in front of the caster-wheel. The bail also acts as a brace to prevent the bedstead from being accidentally moved.

I do not claim, broadly, a switch as applied to a caster, but confine myself to the construction and arrangement pointed out in the claims.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is 1. The combination with a caster having a glass or other electrically non-conducting.

caster-wheel, of an approximately U-shaped bail pivoted to the caster embracing the caster-wheel and adapted to be engaged with the floor, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. The combination with a caster having opposite openings formed in the forks thereof, and a glass or other electrically nonconducting caster-wheel, of an approximately U- shaped bail formed from a single length of wire, having the free ends of its side arms bent inward forming pivots, adapted to be engaged with the respective openings in the forks of the caster, whereby the bail is pivotally mounted upon the caster and embrac- HARRY Si LEE.

Witnesses JAS. W. WIGHTMAN, HERBERT E. STOUT. 

